Bacon treating



T O' BRIEN April 5, 1932.

BACON TREATING Filed sept. 1o. 1928 0. fm n M m 5 Umvd IL@ /7256 Wwmf; *0 25762972.

d industr vmeans or the treatment of animal bellies or of this 'invention and 'as it ap Fatented Apr. 5, 1932 THOMAS OBRIEN, 0F CHICAGO, ILLINOIS,

PAT orrica ASSIGNOR, BY MIESNE A SSIGNHIENTS T0 INDUSTRIAL PATENTS CORPORATION, 0F CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, lA CRORATION 0F DELAWARE BACON TBEATING Application ledSeptember 10,1938. Serial 1Q`c.,3l).'a,115.l

This invention relates' to the meat packing and especially to methods an bacon. When such parts are smoked there is a tendency or the lean side to contract, especially when skinned bellies are f' used, causing the same to Warp or curl. 'AS aresult of such curling, the appearance is less attractive, the slabs do not pack Well, and moreover the bacon does not slice so well, especially in a machine, as when the slab lies flat.

The main objects of this invention are to provide asimple and effective method and* means adapted to hold the lower or shoulder part of the baconagainst curling, as also the middle part, when .the bacon-is suspended by a re ular comb hanger from the ham end for smo to provide readily attachable and` remova le means of simple and inexpensive construction for this purpose; and to provide such means. adapted also for attachment to a curled smoked slab. for. straighteningl and holding it fiat while it chills andsets..

An illustrative embodiment of this. invention is shown in the accompanying drawings -in which:

.Figure 1 is a perspective view of a.' slab of skinned bacon straightened 'out dat, ready for smoking, and so held by means of a regular comb hanger and a plurality'of holders embodying this invention. It appears thus also after smoking.

Fi 2 is anl end view of a slab of bacon showing its natural curled sha e as it would come from the smoke house, i not held flat while 'being smoked.

Fi 3 is an end view illustrating h ow such a sla appears when held flat by the device ears when smoked, and even after the ho ers are re' moved. 4

Fig. 4 is aperspective view'of a simple straightening holder,"such as shown in Figs. 1 an 3.

' In the construction shownlin the drawings, the device 1 .ofthis .invention comprises a, straight bar 2 of suiiicient length to extend across the bacon, especially at the shoulder end, in combination with a pair of transverse end b rads or spikes 3 adapted to pierce the the y edges of the .bacon when the latter is spread out ilat., t

When 4a lslab of4 bacon is to be smoked, a regular comb hanger, as vshownat 4, is applied to the ham end as .usual and a holder 1 is secured to the shoulder end as shown in Fig. 1. Preferably a second holder 1 is applied to the middle part of the bacon. If de. sired, more of these holders may be applied medially as will be understood. These straighteners 1 may also b e applied to curled smoked baconto straighten the slabs and hold the same fiat while chill setting. The shaded side of the bellyA in Figs.. 2 and 3 is the lean side, and the other side, the unshaded side in these figures, is the skinned side, to which 'one gi tle flatteningl bars is shown applied in en the bacon comes from the smoke and has been chilled the comb and holders are removed and the slab remains set in its flat uct has a better appearance than slices from curled meat. v

A The results from use of this invention are. that the bacon lies more evenly on the table the meat while slicing than "when badl warped or curved, and assuring more umform slices. result is that the slices from a straightened belly present a far vbetter appearance than do those from bellies curved at varying degrees, especially in the visible packages now exten sively used.

-of the slicing machine', presenting ,less play in Y ao Another and mostv important Whenv theba'con is to be sliced for-market stead of being sold in slabs, itis preferable to, place the holder-'s on the bellies before smoking, as the operation isv4 thus lsimplified somewhat, and the irregularcoloring under the holder bars is not objectionable as it does not show after slicing. Otherwise the straighteners are not'put onuntil the bacon is'smoked, as' this' saves tieing u a lot ofv 'theseattachments and avoids lig t colored shadow lines on the bacon.

.Although but one-specific embodiment of this invention is herein shown and described,

v it is to be understood that some of tne'details of the construction shown and of the process described may be altered or omitted without de arting from the spirit of the invention as de ned by the following claim.

1 claim: l

The method of treating bacon bellies to produce permanent flat slabs of bacon `con` sisting in applying one or more flattening bars across the skin side only of the bellies at intervalsto Hatten the bellies if curled, piercing the bellies adjacent the side edges thereof by pins extending from and anchoring the bars in position to exert a tension on all of the tissues between the skin side and the lean `side, holding the bellies flat against the said bar or bars and preventing the lean side from shrinking and curling :for a suicient' period of time to cause the bellies to retain permanently their flat form and then removlng the flattening. bar or bars and the holdinmeans from the bellies.

goed at Chicago this l12th day of July, l

THOS. OBRIEDL 

